Names and other such things
by Planet Mads
Summary: Fem!Ed On how Ellice become Edward and other such things.
1. Chapter 1 Names and Warriors

Title: Names and other such things.

Chapter Title: Names and Warriors.

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

Rating: PG – 13/K+.

Warning: Young!Fem!Ed.

Summary: On how Ellice become Edward.

Ellice Elric likes the name Edward. It's a strong name, a just name. A name for warriors and mighty war-lords. A name for a _hero_.

Like Edward Gakusha.

She read about him in one of her father's books. A warrior who saved innocents. A warrior who overthrew an evil tyrant. A warrior who fought for good no matter what. A warrior who saved his family from the hands of death himself. A warrior who could do _anything_.

When Al disappears into the darkness of the gate. When Ellice looses everything she doesn't stop to think, she just draws. Draws arrays in blood – because there's nothing else she can use then – draws and draws and even though she doesn't believe in any God anymore (after seeing that _thing_ that is supposed to be her mother how could she?) she prays that the gate will return her baby brother to her.

Later on – when Granny has bandaged her up – Edward watches her brother clank around the room through slitted eyes as she pretends to sleep.

She had been just like Edward Gakusha. He hadn't thought about the dangers to himself when he went to save his family from his enemy. Hadn't thought about anything apart from saving the ones he loved.

For a few seconds Ellice had been like him.

She wants to be more like him. Because he hadn't failed, _he_ managed to save everyone he loved. And she wanted to save Al – wanted to save him so much that it _hurt_.

But the real questions was _how_?

When Mustang comes and leaves – talking about state alchemists and paths to her dreams – Ellice thinks about things.

Thinks about the arm and leg she's going to need if she does join the army.

Thinks about the fact that Mustang mistook her for a boy.

Thinks about the 'no female state alchemists' rule.

They wouldn't want Ellice. Silly, foolish Ellice who had almost killed the last member of her family. No, they wanted strong, fearless boys.

Like Edward Elric would be.

She could be like Edward Gakusha, she could be like the almighty war-lord. She could find a way to save her family. She could find a way to fix Al.

She could take his name and make it her own. It would give her strength. Strength to overcome anything just like he had.

As Edward she could do anything – even the impossible.

_End Names and Warriors._

So I read Harkami and nekokoban's series of Always-fem!Ed Au on FMA-genderswap and really enjoyed the one where Ed got her male name when she was a child and thought to myself, huh, where else could Ed get a name from? And here it is.

I also have a lot of ideas to go with this – I have a real obsession with fem!Ed (and FMA in general) so if people like this more shall be coming!


	2. Chapter 2 Illusions

Title: Names and other such things.

Chapter Title: Illusions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Full Metal Alchemist.

Rating: PG – 13/K+.

Warning: Young!Fem!Ed.

Summary: On how Ellice become Edward and what Edward did to save her brother.

Ellice runs her hand over the array. Traces the curves of the circle and the ebb and flow of words with her fingertips. Each word, each diagram, has a meaning, a _purpose_. They must all fit together if she is going to make this work.

"Have you done it sister?" The soft metallic voice of her baby brother tugs her from her thoughts. She looks up into the armoured face of the one person she loves the most. It has been two years since Al lost his body to the gate but even now she feels something painful twist inside her as she looks into glowing red eyes.

She is glad for it though. As long as she feels this, as long as this pain rattles her insides she knows she won't stop till it's fixed. Won't stop until she can look into the warm silver eyes of her brother once more.

"I think so." The blonde murmurs, looking back down at the array beneath her fingertips.

Ellice has known for a while now about the 'no female state alchemists' rule. When she had first found out she had stood there and started insulting the Fuhuer until her mother cuffed her round the back of her head for her bad language. Females were just as good at alchemy as males were, sometimes even better (with her and Al's sensei being the obvious example for this) and she had never liked the Fuheur because of his stupid rule.

When Mustang had mistook her for a boy (which had been mortifying ay first because Winry had teased her non-stop for days about in an attempt to lighten the mood) Ellice had realised that she had found a way into the army.

All she had to do was dress up as a boy. It was so simple! And so brilliant!

Up until the point where Granny had pointed out that the army had physical examinations to make sure all their personnel were healthy.

For a week Ellice had despaired. Until it had hit her.

Sight, sound, touch – they were things that an alchemist could control. People's abilities to see where due to light particles, if you could alter them you could alter what people saw. The same with sound particles. And touch – that was due to the nervous system, which was signals sent to the brain. If she could, somehow intercept those signals . . .

She thought of nothing but the array from then on. She worked on it non-stop, even when she was recovering from her automail surgery, she did nothing but think. Think, think, think. Alchemy, alchemy, alchemy.

It took some time of course but it slowly started to come together. Altering light and sound particles so they left her body slightly changed was easy enough. It had been simple to work those out. The main problem had been energy. Where to find the energy to convert these signals to what she wanted? In the end she found it in herself. Literally. If you used alchemy for too long you felt tired, like the life had been drained out of you. You needed energy to activate the array, energy that was obviously found within her and it had been that energy she had decided to use.

The first few times she had attempted it she had ended up unconscious on the floor. It had taken her a while to fine-tune the energy conversion so that she could maintain a steady illusion. And even then every time she had put the illusion up she had ended up eating a lot afterwards to regain her energy. She had simply shrugged and resigned herself of a few years of being a greedy little bugger and got on with the next part of the array.

Touch.

It had been harder. And even now – after two months of working solely on this bit alone – the final product wasn't perfect. But she could see no other way around it. When she had to change the signals in someone's nervous system she had to alter the electric signal going through them. Which meant she had to emit a changed electric signal. And while that was fine and dandy, the problem was the backlash. Every time somebody touched her, she would generate enough 'electric signal energy' that should someone hug her, her whole body would feel . . . manly as it were. Of course, if people only touched a shoulder or hand then the other energy wasn't needed and dissipated back into her body.

But dissipating was very, very painful.

It was like having a very big electric shock. And the first few times she had tested it out she had jumped every time Winry had simply held her hand or something. It had taken her a while to simply grit her teeth and bear it but she had managed.

The final task had been slotting all three arrays together so that they work in synchronisation.

And now, hopefully, she had done it.

Taking a deep breath Ellice presses her hands to the array. Alchemy flares around her and when she stands up, array still clutched in her hands, Al is clapping his huge metal hands.

"You look like a boy!"

Ellice grins, "Really?!"

Alphonse laughs, the sound hollow in comparison to the one he gave but a year ago. But it makes Ellice feel better all the same, he has not laughed much since the failed transmutation. "You sound like one too!"

"And now for the final test!"

Both siblings jump at the sudden announcement and turn to look at the door. Winry is standing there, hands planted firmly on her hips and a determined look on her face.

Ellice smiles at her softly, jerking her head in a 'come here' motion. Winry nods sharply, messy blonde hair flying everywhere before she stomps across the room towards Ellice. She stops only when their toes are almost touching and glares straight into Ellice's eyes before spreading her arms wide and hugging her.

There's a jolt of electricity even though Winry is obviously trying to stop that from the way she's wrapped herself around her (Ellice almost snorts – honestly, the girl worries far too much, she can handle a little pain) and turns her face so that her mouth is hovering over Winry's ear. "Well?"

The blonde steps back, a grin on her face. "Can't tell you're a girl at all!"

Alphonse whoops, jumping into the air, armour clanking about cheerfully.

Winry and Ellice both turn a smile on him as he dances around. They get how very important this is for Al. It means Ellice can join the military now, can start on the path to getting Al's body back.

Grinning, Ellice lets go of the paper, watching as her hands shift back to their usual dainty selves as the paper flutters to the floor. Or as dainty as one can get one of your hands is metal.

When she looks up Winry is frowning at her, "How are you going to keep the array in place?"

Originally she and Al had thought that with her new ability to clap and form alchemy she would be able to easily keep the illusion up. Problem was, they realised, that when Ellice clapped she was forming the 'circle' and the symbols usually written inside that circle had to be thought of as she clapped. Once you separated your hands or stopped thinking about the array you were using though the transmutation failed. Which wasn't a problem for regular alchemy, but her illusion array had to be activated at all times. It had taken the two of them a while to figure out a solution.

"I'm going to carve the array into a piece of metal then attach that to some ribbon." Ellice explained, walking over to the table where a set of red ribbon was laid out next to a piece of metal she had stolen from Granny's scrap pile. "I'm then going to wrap the ribbon round my neck so that it's permanently touching me and can therefore consume all the energy it needs."

Winry nodded slowly – she didn't really understand alchemy all that well. But the Elric siblings talked about it so often that she had ended up reading about the basics of it so she could be able to understand what they were talking about, even if it was only a little bit. Ellice has really appreciated having someone to bounce ideas off when Al's not been allowed in her room while she was recovering.

"I've built a few symbols into the array so that once it's activated it won't deactivate itself until I tell it to." That had been rather simple; people had needed permanently activated array before so it was easy to incorporate it.

"Understood." Winry mumbled, glancing at Ellice out of the corner of her eye as the girl set about carving the array into the metal. The mechanic suddenly breaks into a grin. "The army isn't going to know what's hit them."

Ellice looked up at Winry in surprise, her mouth dropping open. She knows what Winry thinks of the army (who dragged her parents off to the war and their graves) and knows that she has not approved of Ellice's decision since she made it. Knows that she has been praying for and dreading the moment when they worked out the correct array. Knows that the blonde is terrified of them leaving and never coming back to her like her parents did. Knows that she would keep them here if she could.

And now knows that she has got Winry's permission to leave despite all of this.

Ellice suddenly smirks. "No, they sure as Hell won't."

_End Illusions._

So it's been a while . . . Um, sorry?


End file.
